Falling to Pieces(Kit and Ty)

Chapter 26

    The Los Angeles Institute was filled with laughter and happy voices. It was Pancake Friday, and everyone needed something to lift their spirits. This was that opportunity. Ty descended the stairs with Kit, two at a time (Kit really wanted his pancakes and Ty wanted to keep up) and took their usual seats at the table. Most of his family was already there, but Dru hadn't shown up yet. Ty assumed that she had slept in; she had probably stayed up late watching horror movies or something.
    Julian was over by the stove, flipping pancakes in the pan. Emma watched over his shoulder, teasing him about how she could flip the pancakes higher. Ty doubted that, but Julian's face at Emma's comments made him laugh. It was strange. So much had happened recently, but this morning, everything felt normal. It felt like a normal day with his family. Ty didn't have to worry about demons, losing Kit, or anything. He could enjoy this time with his family, and it felt amazing.
    "First pancakes are ready!" Julian called. Ty got up with Kit and walked over to Julian with their plates. Kit nudged him with his shoulder, smirking. Ty elbowed him back. Kit laughed, and it was wonderful. His laughter was sweeter than any music Ty had heard, and that was saying a lot; Mozart was a famous musician.
    "Good morning, Ty," he said, slipping two pancakes onto Ty's plate. He smiled at Kit. "Good morning, Kit."
    Once Kit had his pancakes, they went back to the table. Kit was grinning like an idiot, but the smile itself was beautiful. Everything about Kit was beautiful, and Ty couldn't help noticing that. The way his eyes lit up reminded him of the sparkling ocean. His hair reminded him of the sand on a beach (but better, obviously). Kit reminded Ty of the beach, his home.
    Ty had been too focused on Kit to notice that Dru had arrived. She sat next to Tavvy, who was trying to have a conversation with her, but she seemed too far away to pay attention. Ty wondered what had such a tight grip on Dru's attention.
    "What do you want to do today?" Kit asked, breaking Ty's gaze from Dru. Kit's hand reached for his under the table, and Ty couldn't hold back a smile. His skin was warm and sent shocks wherever they touched. Ty had never felt this way about anyone; it was terrifying. He couldn't predict what would happen like he could in a Sherlock Holmes book. That wasn't how love worked. Ty had to learn along the way; he could pick up clues, but they didn't lead to solving the case. No, love wasn't like that. Love was like falling (Ty guessed that's why it was called "falling in love"). It could send that sick, panicky feeling to your stomach, but love wasn't just that; it wasn't just falling. It was falling with someone to catch you. Ty hoped Kit was there to catch him.
    He shrugged. "What do you want to do?"
    "I asked you first."
    "But, I don't have any ideas," Ty said. "I bet you can come up with something."
    Kit watched him like he was about to kiss Ty, but decided against it. That was probably a good thing, since there were children around. Instead, Kit lifted Ty's hand to his lips and kissed it. Ty shivered. He could still feel where Kit had touched his hand.
    "We could go to the beach," he suggested.
    Ty nodded. "Good idea, Watson." Kit smiled at that. "See, I told you that you could come up with an idea."
    A tinge of red colored Kit's cheeks. Was he blushing? Ty wasn't sure, but the thought of Kit blushing made Ty smile. He was Kit Herondale, descended from a line of great Shadowhunters. Jace—one of the greatest Shadowhunters—was related to him in some way. Yet, only a few words would make him blush. It was adorable.
    Dru made a gagging noise, snapping them both out of it. "You two are so adorable, it's sickening."
Ty looked down at his plate, and Kit just shrugged. "I can't tell if that's a complaint," Kit said.
"Yes, I'm complaining!"
"We're just holding hands, get used to it."
Dru raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? I mean, you spend a lot of time alone together..."
"Dru!" Emma scolded.
"What? You know I'm right."
Ty stared at his plate, not wanting to be part of this awkward conversation. He could feel his cheeks turning red. Of course Dru had to try to embarrass him. That's what siblings do. Maybe he and Kit could come up with a way to get back at her. Ty liked that idea.
"What are you suggesting, Drusilla?" Kit asked, glancing at Tavvy, daring her to say what's on her mind. Ty looked up from his plate to see how this was going to go down.
Dru's looked over at Tavvy. "Cover your ears," she said.
"Never!" he shouted. "I'm old enough to hear whatever you have to say." Tavvy was determined not to be left out of this conversation, although it wasn't one Ty would want to be part of if he had a choice.
"No." Dru shook her head. "You're not."
Tavvy pouted, as if pouting would solve anything. Ty remembered being around Tavvy's age, the age where he was left out of adult conversations. Ty would always spy on Clave meetings with Livvy, and then Kit joined them. He smiled at the memory.
"Just cover your ears for a minute," she said. Tavvy sighed and lifted his hands to his ears. Ty could tell he was still trying to listen; he only lightly pressed his hands to his ears. Dru noticed this and said, "You're still listening." Tavvy groaned and pressed harder against his ears. Dru smiled. "Perfect."
Kit seemed surprised by how much effort Dru would put into having this discussion. "You know, you really don't have to talk about this..."
"Scared, Herondale?"
He shook his head. "Not even close." He smirked, and Ty realized that Dru was definitely in trouble. He always smirked when he had a plan. "What were you saying before? We spend a lot of time alone?"
"Yeah," she said. "I'm assuming you guys kiss a lot."
"You know what?" Julian said, cutting in. "Who wants more pancakes?"
A chorus of 'I do's went up from the table. Julian nodded, and went back to the stove. He mixed the batter furiously, and Ty found it almost funny how flustered he was.
"Uh, so how about a movie night?" Emma suggested, breaking the silence.
"It's daytime," Dru said. "And Tavvy, you can uncover your ears now."
Tavvy uncovered his ears and glared at Dru. "You're the worst, Silla."
"Yeah, yeah," she said. "Whatever."
"Anyway, I was thinking we could watch a movie tonight," Emma said.
Julian came over wearing his apron and carrying a plate of pancakes. They smelled amazing. "I think that's a great idea!" he said. "Don't you think, Helen?"
    Helen, startled by her sudden involvement in the conversation, switched her gaze from Aline to Julian. "Hm?"
    Julian sighed. "Movie night?"
    "Sounds great! I'll have to go buy some snacks, but I have all day."
    "Perfect!"
    Tavvy grinned. "Movie night!"
    "How about a horror movie?" Dru suggested. "I want to see your reactions."
    Tavvy nodded, a mischievous glint in his eye. Ty knew that he would get into lots of trouble one day. "Let's watch a horror movie!"
    "Tavvy, you're too young," Julian said, apologetically. "Anyway, horror movies are terrifying."
    "That's the point of them!" Dru argued. "It's fun to be scared!"
    "I'm sure it is, but I'm not sure if Tavvy is ready for that."
    Dru frowned. "Fine. We'll watch Paw Patrol, then."
    "He's not that young, Dru," he sighed. "How about we watch Thor?"
    Kit grinned, and Ty's heart skipped a beat. It was unfair how Kit affected him like this. "Those movies are great!" Kit said excitedly. Sometimes he reminded Ty of a golden retriever. "We're watching them."
    "I guess it's decided, then!" Julian said, smiling at Kit. Julian always loved it when Kit acted like he was part of the family, and Ty loved it as well. Kit really was part of the family. He didn't have Blackthorn blood, but he was as much of a Blackthorn as Emma was. Kit Blackthorn. Ty liked the sound of that.